Oliver Chernikov--District 5

Name: Oliver Chernikov
Age: 16
Gender: Male
District/Area: District 5
Appearance:

Oliver typically cares little about his appearance because his main goal in life is to not be seen. Therefore his thick, dark brown hair is almost always messy and in need of a haircut. His skin is pale from lack of sunlight and his almost black eyes often have dark circles beneath them because he gets little sleep. He has thin lips that few words escape and a narrow nose. Oliver stands about six feet tall and is incredibly skinny. Oliver’s muscle mass is next to nonexistent, but he compensates for this by being nimble and silent, a trade off tat in his line of work is more than fair. He has long, bony fingers that are nimble and capable of picking most locks and like most members of his family, he has a sixth toe on his left foot.

In clothes as well as most other aspects of his life, Oliver Chernikov chooses practicality over appearance. He normally wears a thin black or grey sweatshirt and black pants. Proud of his extra appendage, Oliver Chernikov almost always refuses to wear shoes. There is a scar from his ear to his jaw from a minor incident with some kids from school. Oliver doesn’t try to hide his physical imperfections mainly because making himself look good won’t get food on the table and therefore isn’t worth the time.

Personality:

Oliver is first and foremost a family man. Ever since his father went mad he has been responsible for keeping his family of five fed and warm, a sometimes daunting task. He is seriously lacking in social skills. Humor is almost foreign to him and he often seems distant during conversation. Quick to defend his family’s honor, Oliver often gets into fights with other people at school. One such fight resulted in his long scar. He doesn’t necessarily like the fact that he has to steal to make his living but justifies his actions by rationalizing that he needs whatever he is taking more than its previous owner. Still he hates that he has to teach his younger brother the tricks of his trade. Oliver wishes that he could be an honest and good person, but he is not willing to watch his family starve for the preservation of his sometimes over righteous values. Oliver had to grow up fast and take care of the family ever since his dad went crazy when he was eleven. He loves his father but still resents him a little for mentally abandoning his family.

Oliver operates under a strict moral code to prove to himself that he is not a no good scoundrel. He only takes things that he needs, so no jewelry or family heirlooms, but only food and sometimes money. He only steals from people who have considerably more money than he does and tries to make sure that his victims deserve to be robbed. He avoids violence when possible and only lies when absolutely necessary. The most important of Chernikov’s rules though is that he cannot go mad like his father. His siblings need him to be fully sane and he can't let them down.

As a general rule, Oliver does not like other people. He often seems sullen or even angry to people he doesn’t know well. He never tries to hide the fact that he doesn’t like whoever he is with, so he has very few friends. The small group of people with whom he manages to get along all seem be rather fond of him though. His resourcefulness and dexterity are often beneficial those few. To the rest of district five though, those traits are a menace. Many a shopkeeper has come into their store to notice that they were missing large amounts of food due to Oliver’s sneaky deeds.

History:

Oliver was nine when his mom died in childbirth giving birth to his youngest sister, Lydia. Afterword, his dad began seeing and hearing things that were not really there. Eventually, Mr. Chernikov’s visions got so bad that he wouldn’t even leave his bed. That is when Oliver decided to take charge of the family’s well-being. He was too young to get a real job in the oil wells and he didn’t have a trade that he could go into business with, so he resorted to thievery, a career choice that continues to keep him and those closest to him alive.

Oliver has gotten quite good at stealing things in his seven years as a thief. His favorite hot spots are the mayor’s mansion and the local butcher shop. Both are the homes of cruel and deserving people and they both are sure to contain good food and lots of money. Oliver still picks pockets on the streets or shoplifts from time to time, but the big heists are what get him the big bucks. He hates himself for teaching his little brother, Abe, to steal, but Oliver needs all the help he can get and if anything ever happens to him, he needs to know that his brothers and sisters could still survive.

He still blames himself for his sister’s death. At the age of six, Lydia tried to steal an orange from a street vendor like her older brother and got caught. The peacekeepers beat her to death in a public whipping. Oliver has been trying to make amends for being a bad influence on his sister ever since, but he is too desperate to change his ways despite his inner disgust at himself.

Oliver has always seen his situation as temporary and vigilantly looks out for a way to make an honest living. But he knows that at the end of the day, he still has five mouths to feed and it looks like any legal means of generating income just won’t do it. He is desperate to turn his life around and be the good influence on his siblings that his father couldn’t be.

Although his actions are definitely illegal, Oliver continues to outsmart and elude the peacekeepers who can never produce even a shred of evidence against him.

Codeword: <img src="http://i41.tinypic.com/16h2ibt.png">
Comments/Other:

Oliver is my first character, so I would appreciate any and all feedback. Thank you.